Day 26
Minnedosa, to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
Distance: 134km
Hot, with side/tailwind

Since we paid our dues yesterday, the winds were kind to us today, thankfully giving us a tailwind.
Last night however, the winds railed and screamed outside our little tent; at one point I thought we might become airborne.
At least the tent was well aerated, which was much needed.

Again, Lewis and I were last to leave camp this morning, even after the galley crew; I got up late and made it just in the nick of time for breakfast, just as the galley crew were shutting the kitchen down.
Thankfully due to Tailwig, we were able to make up time and got into camp at a very respectable time today.

We’re staying in a little town in the fairgrounds, which is currently hosting a horse-riding camp; it is quite strange to be camping with horses galloping around, very near by.
I think it has crossed all of our minds to trade in our bikes for a horse, especially after yesterday’s ride.

Today’s ride took us along some very busy highways, some of which could compete with Toronto’s 401 for traffic and aggressive drivers.
Usually we ride on the shoulder, if we’re lucky enough to have one, but today at times required us to ride on the road.
Generally drivers are pretty decent about giving us room, but other times, not.
Some roads give us a generous shoulder to ride on, which allows plenty of room between ourselves and the traffic, but today the shoulder was approximately 6 inches wide, so even though we were on the right of it, there was not much room.
When the highway is a two lane road, with one lane for each direction, we are often at the mercy of people who think it a good idea to overtake slower traffic, right at the moment when we are passing, so that we are almost face on with an oncoming car, traveling sometimes over 120km/hour.
One sneeze or false move could ruin everyone’s day.
Today I was on Lewis’ wheel and happened to look over his left shoulder at the moment someone was overtaking; we must have had about 6 inches between us and the front bumper of this overly confident driver, who was overtaking the slower traffic. I was feeling quite sleepy at the time, and it gave me just the shot of adrenaline I needed to wake up.
Who needs coffee when one can ride on Manitoba roads?

At times like this I wish these people knew what it is like to be on bike and riding with the likes of them on the road.
Most trucks are quite courteous and will give us the lane if possible, but some seem to have a vendetta out for cyclists, as they will come as close to us as possible, and blast their horns.
Not nice Mr. Truck Driver.
Some cars also seem to get a kick out of honking at us for no reason (we are always very careful to stay on the shoulder, so we are no in any way interfering with traffic,) yet some drivers insist on making it difficult for us, or perhaps more fun for them.
I have become quite adept at picking out the friendly, ‘honkity, honk-honk’ opposed to the ‘BWAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH’ type honk that can almost throw you right out of the saddle.

Yesterday, when Headwig declared war on us we were riding in a formation of 9 along a quite lonely road, when a pick up truck pulled in front of us.
Since this was after the butter-tart incident, and our spirits and blood sugar levels were buoyant, we thought perhaps the truck was going to let us draft behind it; perhaps the people of Manitoba are sensitive to those who suffer at the force of the wind, providing sugary treats, and wind protection when needed.
But it was not to be, and was rather a big joke (although the humor was over our heads) for all the passengers in the truck, as the driver jumped out of the truck, and ran beside it for a couple of seconds, before jumping back in and squealing off.

But later on that day all was made up for once again, as the water guy gave Lewis and I fresh, clean water outside of the Canadian Tire.

We made it through (well not quite yet-there still is breakfast tomorrow morning) another galley duty.
Same button pusher as last time did go walk-about mid way through our cleaning session, and had to be reined back in.
I think our galley crew will win the award for ‘most dramatic’ as we all tend to bicker and pick at each other throughout the cooking procedures.
At one point a crowd of others had gathered to watch the antics as they unraveled during the cooking process; entertainment is sometimes hard to come by when camping (or not, if you look close enough, as in this case.)
This eve the arguments were over the type and quantity of the pasta to be cooked, as well as how much sauce was required, not only for and meat-eaters, but also for the vegetarians.
There were also mutterings from the button-pusher that he didn’t like tomatoes, and that we shouldn’t add more tomatoes to the tomato- based sauce.
I was in charge of making the spinach salad, and objected to the mayonnaise and sour cream content of the dressing.
Button pusher then decided, since he wanted to get dinner and the cleaning done early, to bring out the cake (for a pseudo-birthday) while we were all still eating.
Since people didn’t want to get short changed on the cake, they promptly dropped their plates of pasta to get cake-it was mayhem.
I keep thinking a team meeting will rectify any issues, but I really think our crew is a hopeless case.
Oh well, only seven more to do.